Marathon Reflections

Leading up to race day, I was freaked out that I wasn't freaking out. I actually texted Toni that I was nervous about my lack of nerves. I sat and thought about it and realized that I was so at peace with the race weekend because I knew I had nailed my training. Almost 100% of the miles planned had been run. The recovery, foam rolling, massages, yoga, myofascial release, strength training, extra sleep--it was all there. I had made it through an incredible strong, intense marathon training cycle 100% healthy and ready to run. One thought kept repeating through my mind:

Whatever happens on race day, you are as prepared as you can be.

So many of my marathons I've gotten injured during, had to take time off, didn't have the time necessary to train, didn't have the base mileage necessary to do a marathon build, etc. etc. etc. It was impossible to show up on race day without a full blown panic attack NOT brewing.

Despite having a calm peace of mind and a ready to rock attitude, the stomach issues were not something I planned for. Well, let me be more specific. I am a runner who has a very sensitive stomach, and I spent a lot of time throughout the training cycle trying to dial in what I could eat the night before a long run, how early I had to get up to eat my breakfast, and practicing a fueling plan to best execute on race day.

I would wake up at least 2 hours before our long run to fuel to allow my stomach time to get ready to run. I hydrated like crazy the Friday before long runs. I discovered that beer makes my stomach angry (womp womp) and cut back on the delicious ones until post-long run. I figured out the GU strategy that works best with my stomach, and I figured out an electrolyte plan with Nuun throughout the hot and sweltering long runs.

Despite all of this planning, I wasn't surprised I had a stomach issue on race day. I had pizza for dinner the night before, as I typically do, and I hadn't even finished my meal before I was racing to the bathroom with a very upset stomach. I was up before my alarm with a very angry stomach. And not my normal nervous race/long run stomach, but a "I ate something I really shouldn't have" stomach. I hydrated like crazy to try to compensate for any fluid loss and hoped for the best. I used the porta potties 4 more times before the race started and drank even more water.

I started the race with a full bladder and quickly had to use a bathroom for a potty break. I had factored in maybe a 2 minute pit stop for a cranky tummy, as most of my LRs had included one bathroom break, and then my stomach would be perfect for the rest of the run. I honestly practiced "going" as quickly as I could during training so on race day I could be in and out and ready to go.

What I wasn't prepared for was the weird cramping that occurred. Was it from dehydration because of my stomach issues all morning? I drank a lot of water that morning, so that would be surprising. It was a really humid morning, and I did miss one water station. After that missed water station, I took a cup of water and gatorade at the next one. Was it the gatorade? I don't know.

I do know that I could not run one second faster per mile during the periods of cramping I was experience. I would have a little reprieve for part of a mile as the cramp would shift downward, and honestly I wish it would've just sent me straight to the bathroom instead of taking its slow ass time. By my estimation, I dealt with it for at least 10 miles of the race. Once I hit the bathroom in mile 18 I felt like a new woman and like someone shot me out of a cannon! I can't imagine how hard the hills at mile 20-23 would've been if I still had that stomach cramp. Uff da. I can tell you my time would've been significantly slower.

I am incredibly proud to have a "bad day" and run a 4:19. I've had "bad days" on marathon morning before and those races have been 5+ hours long. Going in to the race, I had every intention of walking away with a shiny new PR and was so excited to see by how much. I felt like a sub 4:10 was doable even if my legs didn't feel great right out of the gates. I really thought I'd land in the 4:02-4:05 range. So by comparison, yeah a 4:19 is a bummer, but I can't be upset with how well I dealt with the day I was given, mentally. Back when I was speedier, I was physically prepared to run "fast" (fast of course being a relative term, fast for me!) but I never had the mental strength to really put all the pieces together on race day. Keeping my brain about me is such a win, that I can't wait to see what happens when my body and mind are on the same page.

Thoughts on the Bemidji Blue Ox Marathon

I had so much I wanted to add to my Bemidji Blue Ox Marathon race report, but I didn't want to make it a trillion and a half pages long. I decided to make a reflection post, more for myself, but also with some information for people considering doing this race in the future!

The course was gorgeous. It was not flat as advertised, and definitely had rollers for the majority of the race. Because 13 miles of the race were around the lake, a windy day makes a significant portion of the race unbearable. I had thought we'd get to run on a path in view of the lake, but we really didn't get to see the lake all that much. It was still gorgeous running through the trees and fall foliage.

The course wasn't as spectator friendly as I was hoping/expecting either. It was actually fairly difficult to spectate. My mom was around mile 4, but from there until 13.1 there wasn't much of an opportunity to drive along and cheer. After the halfway mark, there were no spectators until around mile 17. From 17 to the finish, spectators could drive along side you on the race route and leap frog cheering on their runners.

It was a really small race, but on a day that I s-t-ruggled, I didn't appreciate that. At least when I was dying at the Nike Women's Marathon, I had tons of people dying along side of me to keep me company. There was an entire hour of the race that I didn't see anyone except the race volunteers. For faster runners, this wouldn't be an issue at all.

In all honestly, I should've dropped to the 16 mile race or dropped completely after my knee/back/hip issues cropped up in September (the half was full at the time I was considering, otherwise that would've been perfect). I'm glad I tried so I wouldn't wonder "what if" but a marathon is hard when your training goes AMAZING. When you essentially taper for 6+ weeks, it's really really hard. Had Kyle, his parents, and my mom not planned to make the trip, I would've eaten my race fee and stayed home. But I was really really excited to have them there for it.

Sometimes I wonder if my body is meant to run marathons, given my poor performance history with them. Maybe 2015 will be spent focusing solely on building up speed, fitness, and fixing/strengthening my body to better handle the miles. I'm certainly not throwing in the towel on them, but it is certainly frustrating to think I'm on the right track with fixing my issues, only to have the same outcome.

P.S. FREE race photos! Total plus!

Race Reflection

After a somewhat disappointing fall racing schedule, I've done quite a bit of reflection to solve the why.  I tend to be a problem solver through and through, so this is pretty natural for me.  My two disappointing races were the Sioux Falls Half in September and the Vegas Marathon in December.

I trained hard for the Sioux Falls half, including two days of speed work per week in my schedule coming off 6 weeks of racing 5ks.  On paper, I should've knocked a PR out of the park.  Instead of my 1:45 A goal, or even my sub 1:50 should-be-a-gimme goal, I had a disappointing (to me) 1:53:47.  Still a course PR, but very far from what I felt I was capable of running.

Vegas was to serve as redemption for my spoiled half.  I was sure a PR was in the bag, and thought that I had put in the work for a sub-4 finish if I worked hard enough in the race.  Granted, my legs/hips/knees wouldn't have allowed for a faster finish than the 4:31 I pulled off, but I'm not sure I would've gotten my sub-4 goal even if all the stars did align that day.

Somewhere along the line instead of just respecting the race distance, I became fearful of it.  And fearful of the pain that it takes to run that hard for that long (26.2 or 13.1).

Thinking back on some of my best races, I had put no pressure on myself.  Dallas White Rock Half Marathon 2009:  I'd been injured and wasn't even sure if I could run the race.  A PR was out of the question.  Yet to date, this is my fastest pace for the 13.1 distance (it was a long course, so ends up being a longer time over a longer distance, but faster pace than my actual PR...confused  yet?).  In August, I met up with Alyssa to do the Urban Wildland Half for fun.  Sioux Falls was my goal race, so I was just taking this as race to see what my legs could do.  No pressure = PR.  Granted it was a 27 second PR, but a PR nonetheless.  :)

In Green Bay I had some time frames I thought I would finish in, but more than anything I just wanted to leave Wisconsin as a marathoner.  And I had a very strong marathon finishing time.

Even going back as far as my sprinting days in high school, my best 100 m. dash was in the semi finals at conference where I was the #1 seed in my heat.  Since I knew I was supposed to win my heat pretty easily, it wasn't a big deal, and I just ran.  Naturally, this is the one and only race I would run faster than the 100 m qualifying standards for the SD state meet.  Regionals?  Choke Fest.  State meet?  Utter chokefest.

Maybe I'm entirely too wrapped up in times and finishes.  Maybe I'm taking the fun out of the running and racing by obsessing over all the minute details.  For sure I'm way too scared to try and fail.  And scared to push myself to the limits in a race and crash and burn.

Don't think; Just run.

Much easier to say than it is to do. :)
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Sorry about the hohumness of this post.  I've 100% moved past being bummed/upset about these races, just needed to put it all down on words before I could close the book on 2010. :)